'Call of Juarez Gunslinger' preview: Back to the Old West with a twist

Call of Juarez: Gunslinger takes the shooter series back to its Old West roots after a poorly-attempted modern-day reboot, and thanks to changing to a digital release, allows it to be more experimental.

The last game in the Western shooter franchise - Call of Juarez: The Cartel was a critical and sales flop despite attempting something new.

In associate producer Nicolas Joye's own words the project was a "failure", and so follow-up Gunslinger is going for a more scaled-back but experimental story and arcade feel, which releasing on downloadable platforms more easily allow.

"We've tested things on the previous game and completely failed," he told Digital Spy.

"We learned a lot of lessons, in terms of production organization, production value that we should put into the game, what to focus on."

Gone is the co-operative play, which took up a "lot of production work" for hardly anyone to play it. The decision to return to the Old West was also a no-brainer.

"I think the good question was, why did we go away from the Wild West for the third title?!" Joye said.

"Us personally as a production team we love the Old West. I love Red Dead, I love [Call of Juarez] Bound in Blood, I love Call of Juarez, and surprisingly there's more or less only two franchises doing it."

Not only does the digital release allow the team to be more experimental, but as we saw with I Am Alive last year, it's part of Ubisoft's on-going strategy of releasing bigger budget releases through digital channels.

"[The] digital market for us at Ubisoft is a strategy we want to follow, we think it's probably the future - [it's] not a really risky guess to say that - so it's important to develop [them]," explained Joye.

Told through a series of flashbacks, our aging gunslinger recalls his greatest adventures in the Old West to a small audience of locals in a saloon.

Missions are narrated in a Bastion-like fashion - the acclaimed indie title served somewhat as an inspiration - and not only does the gunslinger describe the action that unfolds, but it also impacts the mission itself.

One such example is an ambush at a caravan trail, with enemies firing down from the tops of steep red rock above. The player can't physically escape until the narrator describes an opening in the rock he suddenly finds, which literally opens up a nearby wall, allowing you to make a last-ditch getaway.

The narration is also uninterrupted by those listening in at the saloon, asking him to elaborate at certain points, and even occasionally disputing what happened.

It's a narrative approach that fits the era, where the truth of what happened during the Old West is muddied by tall tales, rumor and speculation.

"It came up doing a lot of discussions that [our angle should be] stories and storytelling, truth and myths," Joye explained.

"Since truth and myth kinda mix, this is where you have all the twists, and it naturally came to some guy is telling the story, and the other guy is like, 'Well I don't have the same version of what you're saying'.

"So there's the interaction between the audience in the game, which is pretty cool. It came naturally.

As well as the story told by the narrator, collectables found throughout the game provide real world insight on the game's events, allowing the player to decide for themselves what really happened.

Fast-paced, arcade gameplay

The digital approach has also resulted in more arcade-style gameplay. Going hands-on with Call of Juarez: Gunslinger's early campaign missions, its moment-to-moment gameplay reminds us of 2011's excellent but under-appreciated Bulletstorm.

With no cover mechanics or stealth options, moving through levels has the feel of a pop-up gallery, with enemy gunslingers appearing like cardboard targets.

But since headshots result in more points - which help the player unlock new skills - gameplay pushes players to play frantically but with accuracy.

This is even more evident in the game's arcade mode. Cherry picking stages from the campaign but with pre-set enemy placements, you must string together stylish kills to earn a high score, competing with friends on a leaderboard.

Stringing together kill-after-kill is key for a combo score, but headshots, multiple kills and shooting through enemy cover earns you bonus points.

This mode, too, also rewards continued play with new skills to further better your scores, and push you up the leaderboard.

With stages lasting just minutes, the mode appears to satisfy for that classic arcade appeal of trying again and again to better your scores.

There's also a few more interesting mechanics that neatly tie into its arcade gameplay. Players are able to dodge bullets when down to their last nugget of health; the 'Last Chance' dodge lets the player judge the angle of an incoming bullet, letting them nudge out of the way to continue playing.

Another is the Showdown, a form of boss encounter that sees you stand off against another gunslinger. Carefully steadying the analogue sticks - one by your holster, the other on the enemy - you have to quick draw and shoot before your opposition.

It's a challenging process, but one that allows the player to cheat by drawing early for a dishonest kill, but by doing so will result in fewer points.

Like the Arcade mode, Showdown has its own mode; a gauntlet of back-to-back quickdraws where with highscores are posted to a leaderboard, and combined with a campaign New Game+ option, round off a series of modes that provide extra value for this download-only release.

Call of Juarez: Gunslinger is available on Xbox Live, PSN and PC this spring.